AceShowbiz -

Joining the crowd in recognizing outstanding film works, performances, and individuals, the Chicago Film Critics Association has unveiled list of contenders competing for this year's CFCA Awards in its anticipation to name the winners on December 28, 2006 via WGN-TV.

Paramount Vantage's multi-narrative drama "Babel" soared as the one that scored most with nine nominations followed by "The Departed" and "The Queen" which both landed six nods each, all earning slot in Best Picture category alongside "United 93" and "Little Miss Sunshine."

Meanwhile, two of its cast members Brad Pitt and Adriana Barraza each contributed one nomination; the former in Best Supporting Actor slot while the latter in the opposite category together with co-star Rinko Kikuchi who also got nominated as Most Promising Newcomer.

In lead acting categories, critics' favorites Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker were again mentioned to line up with names like Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter O'Toole, and Ryan Gosling in the list. Other stars nominated included Michael Sheen of "The Queen", Jennifer Hudson of "Dreamgirls", and Sacha Baron Cohen of "Borat."

For Best Foreign Language Film slot, the organization delightfully gave nods to the likes of "Pan's Labyrinth", "Volver", and "Apocalypto" while listing up "An Inconvenient Truth", "Deliver Us from Evil", plus "Jesus Camp" as contenders for Best Documentary. Complete nominations can be viewed via its official site at https://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/nominate.html.